Portobello Mousse

8 portobello mushrooms 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter ¼ cup finely chopped yellow onion ½ cup heavy cream 1 ¾ teaspoons agar-agar ½ teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon truffle oil GRILLED PORTOBELLOS 10 large portobellos ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil 1 teaspoon salt TRUFFLE TOAST ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil 1 teaspoon truffle oil 1 baguette, sliced thinly on the

diagonal Salt 1. To prepare the mousse, remove and discard the stems from the mushrooms, then scrape the gills from the underside of the caps. Chop the mushroom caps to yield 6 cups chopped portobello. 2. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter. Add the onion and cook until very soft, about 15 minutes. Add the cream, reduce the heat to low, and cook for 10 minutes. Add the rest of the butter and cook for 10 minutes. 3. Add the agar-agar, stir gently, and let come to a simmer. Immediately remove from the heat and pour the mixture into a blender. Start blending on low and as the mixture smoothes out, gradually increase to high speed. 4. Add the mushrooms to the blender and blend until extremely smooth. Add the salt and truffle oil and blend until incorporated, about 10 seconds. NOTE: Contrary to popular belief, there are no truffles in truffle oil. Instead, it contains a chemical additive, 2,4-dithiapentane, that doesn’t taste like truffles at all. Its rich, oily mushroom flavor makes it a perfect flavor enhancer for dishes like this, though. Recipes reprinted from “Dirt Candy: A Cookbook.” © 2012 by Amanda Cohen and Ryan Dunlavey with Grady Hendrix. Published by Clarkson Potter, a division of Random House.